Pickpocket and scam gangs in Oxford Circus

Tony Devenish: What are you doing to tackle pickpocket and scam gangs in Oxford Circus?

The Mayor: ASB can have a significant impact on communities, dissuading people from enjoying their environment, and in some cases, it can escalate into more serious crime. MOPAC funds Safer Neighbourhood Boards – enabling them to tackle issues that matter locally, including ASB. The Mayor has set ASB as a mandatory local priority for every Borough across the City. The MPS conduct proactive operations to arrest and convict pickpockets. They have and are increasing the use of stop and search to disrupt and deter in hotspots, as well as using CCTV as evidence and to help catch wanted offenders. They will continue to conduct proactive operations across the West End to target pickpockets, in conjunction with our uniformed officers who will be using a variety of methods to raise public awareness of theft pickpocketing.

Safety Performance on TfL’s Bus Operator League Tables

Caroline Pidgeon: Further to your refusal in Question 2019/4038 to publish safety performance by TfL bus operators on TfL's bus operator league tables, a recent press release from GMB Union reports Singapore-owned Comfort DelGro Metroline as having the highest number of bus collision casualties during the period 1 April 2014 to 30 September 2018.Will you confirm that Metroline is indeed the TfL bus operator with the highest number of collision casualties since 1 April 2014?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) does not believe that commenting on specific operator performance would help foster the transparency and joint working needed to improve safety.
In support of my Vision Zero ambition, TfL is committed to reducing overall casualties across all operators on the network and to changing mindsets so that no-one accepts that a death involving a bus is inevitable or acceptable. To deliver this, all partners need to play their part. This means working collaboratively to reduce risk and injury. The road network is an open environment where many factors are at play. Putting safety at the heart of everything we do requires building openness into bus operations, encouraging full reporting of incidents, and learning between operators to foster sharing of best practice.
TfL publishes all safety incidents on the London bus network alongside the bus operator’s name on its website at: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/bus-safety-data.

Mayor's Young Londoners' Fund KPIs

Andrew Boff: What are the KPIs and outputs for the Young Londoners Fund and how has the fund performed against them. Please provide me a yearly breakdown for the 2017/18 and 2018/19 year. Please also provide me with the targets for the 2019/2020 year.

The Mayor: All Young Londoners Fund (YLF) projects report quarterly on the number of participants that start and complete their planned activity.
There was no activity in the 2017/18 financial year.
Round 1 small grant funded projects deliver from October 2018 to October 2021, and medium and large projects from January 2019 to December 2021. They forecast that they will 56,000 young people in total will start activity.
Round 1 projects provided forecasts for each of their delivery years. For their first delivery year (over the period from October 2018 to December 2019) they are planning to support 10,700 young people, with 8,000 completing their planned activity. In financial year 2018/19 the 105 Round 1 projects reported that 6,600 young people started activity, of which 3,000 completed their planned activity.
Projects also producea theory of change and evaluation plan which sets out how they will monitor the impact of their activity against up to seven YLF outcome areas. These build on the MOPAC Youth Outcomes Framework. You can read more in section 3.2 of the YLF prospectus www.london.gov.uk/apply-young-londoners-fund.
The Centre for Youth Impact has been commissioned to help projects develop rigorous evaluation plans. In addition, the YLF will be externally evaluated.
Applications for YLF Round 2 (£15m) is open and closes on 12 July 2019. Applicants are asked to provide details of their planned outputs and outcomes.

Automated Facial Recognition

Peter Whittle: In terms of civil liberties, is the use of automated facial recognition by the Metropolitan Police the equivalent to taking DNA samples or fingerprints without consent?

The Mayor: No. Images scanned by the system which did not generate an alert were deleted, so there is no storage or retention of personal data. However, the report from the London Policing Ethics Panel into the MPS’ use of LFR recognises that robust governance and oversight arrangements that balance the technological benefits of LFR with their potential intrusiveness. The panel recommends that oversight by MOPAC should be in a manner akin to MOPAC’s oversight of other potentially intrusive tactics.

Addressing counterfeit tobacco and alcohol supplies

Onkar Sahota: Has the pan-London illegal tobacco and counterfeit alcohol team been established yet, and if not, when will it be running by?

The Mayor: Neither I nor the Metropolitan Police Service has any knowledge of such a team, this is something that would be dealt with by HM Revenue and Customs or Trading Standards.

Schools for Success and Young Carers

Jennette Arnold: How does your Schools for Success programme support young carers?

The Mayor: Schools for Success showcases London’s schools that are tackling low student achievement and are willing to help others. The programme encourages schools to share good practice, including how they meet the needs of different groups of vulnerable students or those students with other additional needs, such as young carers.
In addition, my new ESF 2019-2023 programme includes £7.5m of funding to provide support for young Londoners aged 16 to 24 who are Not in Employment, Education or Training and have other specific complex needs or characteristics of disadvantage. Young carers are named as one of the targeted groups to be supported through this funding.

Young Londoners Fund and Young Carers

Jennette Arnold: How does the Young Londoners Fund support young carers?

The Mayor: Three projects supported through the first round of Young Londoners Fund are exclusively targeted at young carers. Together they plan to support 670 young carers over the next three years.
‘Hidden Champions’, managed by London Borough of Waltham Forest, supports 10 to 18-year-olds by providing weekly Young Carers Clubs. ‘Young Carers Achieve’, managed by Kingston Carers Network, gives 10 to 18-year-olds in-school support through one to one and lunchtime group sessions. The ‘Family Support Project Activities Fund’, managed by Hillingdon Carers, provides intensive, short-term, whole family interventions for 10 to 21-year-olds caring for parents with substance misuse issues or mental ill health. Further information about the activities being delivered through these projects can be found at www.london.gov.uk/young-londoners-fund
Many more of my Young Londoners Fund projects will also be working with young carers as part of the overall group of young people they support. Round two of the Fund is currently open for applications and organisations that work with young carers are encouraged to apply.

Becoming ULEZ Compliant

Jennette Arnold: An elderly constituent, like many others, faces the loss of independence with the introduction of the ULEZ in 2021. She wants to know if there are options to bring the emissions of non-compliant vehicles up to compliant standards. Do you know of any such options and if so can you provide details please?

The Mayor: Retrofit systems are available for some vehicle types, including high-value buses, coaches and refuse vehicles, to bring a non-compliant vehicle up to the required standard. However, the cost and technical complexity of developing the exhaust after-treatment systems needed to retrofit passenger cars means that these systems are unlikely to become available in the foreseeable future.
To avoid a daily charge, the required standard for a vehicle in ULEZ is Euro 4 for petrol engines and Euro 6 for diesel engines (Euro 3 for motorcycles). There are Euro 4 petrol cars of up to 13 years old available now that meet the ULEZ standard.
I am introducing a £25m car scrappage fund for low-income Londoners to scrap older, more polluting vehicles that will launch later this year. My team are working together with TfL to develop the scheme and this includes looking at the eligibility criteria.

London Policing Ethics Panel Report on Live Facial Recognition Technology (1)

Unmesh Desai: How will you reassure yourself that the Met has addressed the conditions and guidelines recommended in the London Policing Ethics Panel report on live facial recognition technology?

The Mayor: The report from the London Policing Ethics Panel is timely and welcome. I have already had the opportunity to discuss the report with the Commissioner and actions arising will continue to be part of these discussions. The Commissioner will be writing to me setting out in detail how the MPS will be ensuring compliance with the London Policing Ethics Panel’s recommendations should LFR deployments go ahead in the future.

Grenfell Tower investigation

Andrew Dismore: How many a) detectives and b) other officers are engaged on the investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire?

The Mayor: Operation Northleigh (Grenfell Tower investigation) currently employs 180 officers and staff. These officers include:

Religious hate crime - Antisemitism

Andrew Boff: How many religious hate incidents targeted at Jews were reported in London, over the last 5 years broken down by year, including the current year?

The Mayor: This information is in the public domain as the Metropolitan Police Service publishes recorded crime data flagged as Anti-Semitic on its website here:https://www.met.police.uk/sd/stats-and-data/met/hate-crime-dashboard/
This dashboard provides monthly recorded crime for a range of hate crime and other crime measures between April 2010 and the most recently available month. This also provides London borough level information and it is possible to download the underlying data directly from this dashboard.

Cost of Policing Protest of President of the United States

Unmesh Desai: What was the total cost of the policing protests relating to the visit of the President of the United States in June 2019?

The Mayor: This information is currently being collated by the MPS o calculate the final costing for the policing operation around the Presidential visit.

Update on London Councils and pupils with Special Education Needs and Disability

Jennette Arnold: In your answer to question 2018/2139, you stated that you were working with London Councils to assess demand projections for schools for pupils with Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND). Please provide an update on this work.

The Mayor: The GLA City Intelligence Unit (CIU) has shared preliminary results and methodology information on its work to project SEND demand in schools with London Councils, the Department for Education (DfE), and with specialists in the boroughs.
Borough feedback has highlighted the need to extend the work to include children with specialist needs who are funded by their local authority to attend independent provision.These represent many of the children with the most severe or complex needs, and also those for whom the cost of provision is greatest. The GLA CIU is currently working with DfE to gain access to the necessary data, collection of which only began in January 2018.Once this data is available, the CIU will review how it can best be included in the analysis and projections.
This work will help to provide a more accurate picture of specialist provision in London and build on the research I published earlier this year which looks at demand projections for post-16 SEND provision. This sets out that the next 5 years will see a significant and growing gap for specialist provision in London. I have spoken to the Secretary of State for Education outlining my concerns for SEND provision and I have committed to work with London boroughs and the Government to address the gaps in provision to help ensure all Londoners have the best possible chance of gaining the skills they need to fulfil their ambitions. https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/london_send_post-16_review_0.pdf

MPS Role in Unexplained Wealth orders and Cooperation with the National Crime Agency

Unmesh Desai: What role, if any, do the Metropolitan Police Service play in cooperating with the National Crime Agency in the investigation of Unexplained Wealth Orders?

The Mayor: The MPS has an established mechanism by which to work cooperatively with the NCA, more so with the recent inception of the National Economic Crime Centre. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are the lead agency in respect of civil recovery under the Criminal Finance Act 2017 - of which Unexplained Wealth Orders form one part. There are currently three pilot sites across the England & Wales Regional Asset Recovery Team (RART) Networks testing implementation of civil recovery across London, South Wales and the West Midlands. The London RART holds assessment panels with the CPS to consider cases that are potentially suitable for civil recovery. To date, the panels have not identified any cases suitable to work cooperatively with the NCA.

Fatigue Risk Management System Audits of TfL Surface Transport Operations

Caroline Pidgeon: In your response to Question 2018/1131, in May 2018, you state that TfL "is reviewing fatigue management systems of all its Surface Transport operations contractors". Please provide the terms of reference, budget, milestones and copies of these "reviews".

The Mayor: Safety is my top priority, and Transport for London (TfL) shares my Vision Zero commitment to ensure there will be no deaths or serious injuries on the transport network by 2041.
Since the tragedy at Sandilands, TfL has taken and continues to take a proactive approach to address fatigue management across all its operations and is committed to ensuring such a tragedy never happens again. TfL’s Surface Transport directorate’s greater focus on fatigue management has become part of regular operational reviews, enabling sharing of best practice, immediate action and effective improvement.
TfL has reviewed the fatigue management arrangements of Tram Operations Limited and fatigue management monitoring is now reviewed within TfL at Director and Managing Director level on a four-weekly basis. TfL has also commissioned independent research into bus driver fatigue, including a review of fatigue management systems within bus operations. TfL is now analysing the results of the research, which it expects to publish in the summer.

Divesting

Leonie Cooper: Please provide an update on your commitment to divest the London Pension Fund Authority from fossil fuels – is divestment now complete?

The Mayor: I committed to take all possible steps to encourage the London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA) to divest its remaining investments in fossil fuel industries that damage the environment and lead to climate change. However, the LPFA is run by an independent board of trustees who must act in the fiduciary interests of members of the scheme. At the start of this administration, LPFA held direct investments in extractive fossil fuels of £43.6m or 1% of its total assets under management (AUM). As at 31 March 2019 LPFA’s equivalent holdings have reduced to £22.8m or 0.4% of AUM. Over the same period, LPFA’s ‘green’ investments have increased from £93.2m or 2.1% of AUM to £134.8m or 2.25% of AUM. I will continue to encourage LPFA to take all possible steps to divest from fossil fuels as part of my work to tackle our climate change emergency.

Breast ironing offences

Susan Hall: Presenting the data by year since 2015/16, please provide a breakdown of the number of breast ironing offences?

The Mayor: This question was previously asked in February (Mayor's Question 2019/4015).
There is not a specific offence for Breast Ironing, these offences are identified by a specific flag (PF) being added to the crime report within the crime reporting system (CRIS), the flag for Breast Ironing was introduced before March 2017.
A search of the CRIS system for this flag for last 5 years reveals only 1 record
A free textsearch within the CRIS system reveals the same record. This has been recorded as a Crime Related Incident (CRI) and not a confirmed offence.

Domestic abuse

Susan Hall: Presenting the data by year since 2015/16 and borough, please provide a breakdown of the number of domestic abuse offences?

The Mayor: The data requested can be found on the MPS “Hate crime or special crime dashboard”. Found here https://www.met.police.uk/sd/stats-and-data/met/hate-crime-dashboard/
The data contained within this dashboard is available to download.

Sure Start

Fiona Twycross: Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has found that Sure Start children’s centres delivered major health benefits for youngsters in the most deprived areas, of which many are in London. It also reduced the number of people requiring hospital treatment thereby making savings to the NHS. Will you lobby the Government to reintroduce Sure Start centres?

The Mayor: Sure Start children’s centres help to improve children’s outcomes, provide support to local families by offering a wide range of services and support social integration and community cohesion. All those aspects are vital for Londoners to thrive and fulfill their potential.
The research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies provides much needed evidence of the benefits of Sure Start and I call on the government to take its findings into account as part of their recently commissioned review of children’s centres. I will continue to make the case to the government for adequate funding for the early years sector, including children’s centres.
My officers continue to monitor issues affecting the early years sector through our London Early Years Stakeholder Group. Led by the GLA, this includes the Department for Education, London boroughs and other sector representatives.
I am also supporting health in the early years through my Healthy Early Years London programme. It targets London’s 13,000+ childcare settings with the aim of tackling health inequalities across the city at the earliest opportunity in a child’s life. To date over 1,200 settings have signed up. In addition, my three Early Years Hubs bring together early years providers to improve access to quality early education for London’s most disadvantaged children.

Pickpocketing

Susan Hall: Presenting the data by year since 2015/16, please provide a breakdown of the number of pickpocketing offences?

The Mayor: Pickpocketing forms part of the police recorded Theft from the Person crime classification. Thefts from the Person are classified as offences whereby property being carried by the victim has been taken. This includes ‘snatch’ thefts (where some degree of force is used but is directed at the property rather than the victims) and ‘stealth’ thefts (where the victim is unaware the theft has taken place). It is not possible to disaggregate these types of offences from the overall Theft from the Person classification.
The Metropolitan Police Service publish recorded Theft from Person information monthly via the crime dashboard – this covers the period April 2010 to the most recently available month.
https://www.met.police.uk/sd/stats-and-data/met/crime-data-dashboard/

Live Facial Recognition (1)

Caroline Pidgeon: Has the recent piloting of Live Facial Recognition (LFR) by the Metropolitan Police Service been deployed in an operational or trial context?

The Mayor: The MPS’ trial use of Live Facial Recognition has been a hybrid of a research and policing operational trial. The London Policing Ethics Panel have proposed an ethical framework for these circumstances.

NPCC Aviation Review

Tony Devenish: The NPCC Aviation Review is likely to make recommendations that incorporate a mix of helicopters, aeroplanes and drones into policing. Have you or the Commissioner had discussions with the NPCC aviation lead to prepare the Met for the publication of this strategy?

The Mayor: The MPS has been in contact with NPCC aviation lead CC Rod Hanson and his deputy DCCNavMalik regarding the aviation review. A draft form of the aviation reviewhas been discussedat the NPAS IAG, chaired by DAC Laurence Taylor, so the MPS is fully aware of the findings of the review and its recommendations and is in close consultation with NPAS about the future of aviation policing and the MPS requirements.

Crossrail delay - Economic impact

Andrew Boff: What is your assessment of what the total economic cost to London would be due to a 2-year delay to Crossrail?

The Mayor: An annualised figure for the economic cost of a delay to Crossrail has not been calculated as part of the appraisal of the project. Construction of the new railway will support regeneration across the capital and add an estimated £42bn to the economy of the UK.
Crossrail Ltd has identified a six-month window for delivering the central section, with a midpoint at the end of 2020. This means, depending on progress, the central section may open either three months ahead of December 2020, or within three months after that into 2021. Crossrail Ltd will be making every effort to deliver the service as early as possible within this window.

Nuisance crime in Oxford Circus

Tony Devenish: What are you doing to tackle general nuisance crime in Oxford Circus?

The Mayor: ASB can have a significant impact on communities, dissuading people from enjoying their environment, and in some cases, it can escalate into more serious crime. MOPAC funds Safer Neighbourhood Boards, enabling them to tackle issues that matter locally, including ASB. The Mayor has set ASB as a mandatory local priority for every Borough across London. The MPS’ West End Business Engagement Teams and Dedicated Ward Officers conduct joint briefings with the New West End Company street wardens. The street wardens then have a better understanding of where offences are being committed and by whom whilst increasing the information flow to Police. Officers are tasked to specific locations that are experiencing anti-social behaviour.
Operation Servator and Roads Traffic Policing Command conduct patrols in this area using behavioural detection techniques; this blend of uniform and plain clothes patrols acts as a deterrent to other offenders.

NPAS

Tony Devenish: Have you made representations to NPAS to ensure police helicopters are only used as needed?

The Mayor: The MPS is in regular contact with NPAS to discuss the full spectrum of collaborationwith regards toair support. The decision to request NPAS is an operational one and this decision will only be made when that is the best (or only) available tactic, or when it forms a crucial part of a wider strategy. As one would expect, the MPS has a high demand for NPAS support relative to other parts of the country, from pre-planned operations – whether that be state visits orlarge scaleprotests – to spontaneous deployments focusing on immediate threat and harm – such as high risk missing persons or high-speed pursuits.
NPAS is a national organisation run separately to the MPS under the management of the lead force, West Yorkshire Police. NPAS additionally make their own assessment of what deployments are necessary and what priority grading theyshould be assignedonce a request has been made for air support.

Taxi and Private Hire Drivers and Mental Health Support (3)

David Kurten: There was a senior taxi reps meeting on the 10 April 2019. When will the meeting discussion notes will be made publicly available, including discussions about the mental health of taxi drivers?

The Mayor: The notes of the senior taxi reps meeting on 10 April 2019 are still being compiled and will be circulated to meeting attendees for their input. A final version will then be provided to all meeting attendees.
With regard to the discussion, I understand this was about the health and overall wellbeing of all taxi and private hire drivers. TfL reaffirmed the measures it is taking to assist drivers with a dedicated web page providing drivers with details of organisations they can contact if they feel they need advice, guidance or help. It is also exploring bringing specialists from these fields together, alongside senior representatives from the taxi and private hire industry, to explore the help that is available to individual drivers.
For some time, articles on wellbeing have also been published both in On Route magazine and in weekly emails that are sent to 150,000 licensees.

Funding for Schools and Local Authorities to Prevent Exclusions

Jennette Arnold: Do you agree with me that schools and local authorities need far more resources from Government to fully be able to prevent and respond to exclusions?

The Mayor: In March this year, with the other Police and Crime Commissioners, I called on the Prime Minister to reverse the damaging cuts to early intervention services and give schools the resources they need to deliver effective interventions and support those at risk of exclusion.
I will continue to call on the Government to properly fund schools in London so they have the resources they need to provide early intervention and support all pupils, including those with complex needs.

Supporting Excluded Pupils to Return to Education or Employment

Jennette Arnold: How do your other programmes, such as via the police, the Young Londoners Fund and the Adult Education Budget, support young people who may have already been excluded to re-integrate back into education or enter the world of work?

The Mayor: Many of the projects that I am delivering through my £45m Young Londoners Fund are supporting young people who have been excluded from school. For example, the ‘School for Change’ project run by Saffron Valley Collegiate provides education and well-being support to young people excluded from school in Croydon. SV Academy’s ‘RISE’ project supports skills development, youth participation and enterprise through a range of arts and digital activities.
I also fund the £1m a year London Gang Exit programme which will help over 260 young Londoners to exit gangs. Participants include some young people who have been excluded from school. In 2018/19 134 young people supported were helped to prepare for education, training, and employment.
Through my 2019-24 European Social Fund programme, match funded by the Adult Education Budget, I will invest £71m in programmes that provide education and employment support to young people and unemployed Londoners. £8m will support young people who are at risk of leaving school or who have been excluded and £3m will support young people who are excluded and vulnerable to involvement in gangs.

Reducing Off-rolling in London

Jennette Arnold: You previously told me that you would lobby Ofsted to investigate and crack down on off-rolling. What else could be done at London level to reduce off-rolling?

The Mayor: I believe that any off-rolling is unacceptable. In my recent response to Ofsted’s new inspection framework I called on Ofsted to take firm action when off-rolling is found.
I support the aim of Timpson’s proposed local forums to provide for more accountable and consistent practice around exclusions, including tackling the illegal practice of off-rolling.
I have started discussions with the sector about how City Hall can support the establishment of these forums. We want to ensure that there is alignment in how they work so that they can easily share data on children moving around the city, jointly commission support, and share practice. We are investigating whether we can pilot the set-up of a local forum in one area to understand how this model can work in reality.
Due to restrictions in public data there are no accurate figures on off-rolling, managed moves or children moving into home education.
I welcome Ofsted’s recommendation that managed move data is made public, and Timpson’s recommendation that local authorities have a clear role in reviewing data on pupil moves. Without more transparent data it is extremely difficult for them to monitor and challenge schools and direct support to the children who need it most.

Live Facial Recognition (5)

Caroline Pidgeon: What is the legal basis, if any, for the use of this technology?

The Mayor: The legal mandate is published on the MPS website here:
https://www.met.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/met/advice/lfr/live-facial-recognition-lfr-mps-legal-mandate.pdf

Rehabilitation Opportunities for Female Offenders (2)

Unmesh Desai: In September 2018 you told the Police and Crime Committee that a pilot diversion scheme for female offenders would be introduced in early 2019. What progress has been made on the scheme so far and what early impact is it having?

The Mayor: Following competitive tendering, Advance Advocacy & Non-Violence Education Partnership has been appointed to provide community-based services for adult female offenders referred by the Police to the pilot. Trauma informed, and gender-specific interventions tailored to addressing the individual and often complex needs of female offenders will be provided in women centres by specialist keyworkers. The Met are now working with the providers to roll out training to officers as well to finalise processes for the new service. Service mobilisation is currently in progress and it is anticipated that the project will be operational in early August.
The first evaluation report for this pilot will be completed in Summer 2020.